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EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you start your day.
1. #CREDIT CARD: €243 in Tesco, €20 in the Dáil Bar and a restaurant bill for €561 – documents obtained by TheJournal.ie show exactly what the Department of the Taoiseach has spent on its credits cards in Enda Kenny’s first year in charge. The Department spent almost €25,000 on the credit cards in total in the space of one year – higher than the previous year, but significantly lower than figures for 2008.
2. #CAO: Points for many third-level courses have risen, particularly in the area of maths, science and technology, according to the CAO which released its college offers this morning. Separately, problems have been reported with the CAO website unable to handle heavy traffic this morning, with unhappy students taking to Twitter to express their unhappiness with the site.
3. #DEATH THREATS: The head of the agency responsible for collecting the household charge has said his staff have received a death threat and hate mail. The Irish Examiner reports Gardaí are investigating after Paul McSweeney of the LGMA said that staff received a shotgun cartridge in the post.
4. #SUSPICIOUS: Gardaí are treating the death of an 81-year-old man in Ballyedmond in Wexford as suspicious after his body was discovered outside a house on Sunday afternoon. A 51-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and is being held in Enniscorthy Garda station.
5. #TONY SCOTT: Hollywood director Tony Scott has died after jumping off a bridge in Los Angeles. The 68-year-old English director was responsible for box office hits including Top Gun, Crimson Tide and Beverly Hills Cop II. He is survived by his wife Donna, their twin sons, and his director brother Ridley Scott.
6. #BLACK MARKET: The State is losing more than €860 million a year to the black market, mostly due to the sale of illegal cigarettes, according to a new report by Retail Ireland. The lobby group said that one quarter of all cigarette sales in Ireland are on the black market, and 12 per cent of all diesel sold is illegal.
7. #NORTHERN IRELAND: The PSNI is investigating after loyalists made a death threat against a Belfast-based journalist. The National Union of Journalists has appealed to politicians and others who may have influence with the Ulster Defence Association to have the threat withdrawn against the unnamed journalist.
8. #CHINA: Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced political leader Bo Xilai, has been given a suspended death sentence by a Chinese court for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. The case has rocked the Community party ahead of a power handover due to take place shortly.
9. #LOVELY GIRLS: The Rose of Tralee – official purveyor of Lovely Girls for the past 53 years – returns to television screens tonight, with 32 Roses from around the world taking to the stage in Kerry in a bid to win the title. We’re going to be liveblogging the whole thing later tonight and tomorrow but in the meantime, we’ve put together The Big Fat Rose of Tralee Quiz. Good luck…
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3. #DEATH THREATS: Everyone in the country is peeved at this charge… but sending death threats!! OTT don’t you think! Unless that person thinks they are Michael Collins reincarnated… ? But its hardly going to stop the government following through on its own threats.
2. #CAO: Well done to everyone who is trying to access the site as its means you made it!! Pity you have already hit a wall though… let your frustrations out or better still try not to let it stress you at all…. because they are many to come over the next few years…
6. #BLACK MARKET: The State is losing more than €860 million a year??? Em… don’t you have to make it to loose it?? A black market thrives because of the governments handling of the recession with high taxes and duties. I don’t think there’s one “honest” person left in this country anymore.. I think everyone has tried at least once to smuggle in more then their allowance from holidays so as not to be ripped off on same products here.
tbh, when i go to another european country and pay with the same currency 3-4 times less as here (TAX included) i fail to see the “Union” in Europe..
Tax paid products bought anywhere in the EU for personal consumption have no limit. It is legal for a person to go to Spain and buy an entire years supply of tobacco or wine or any other product for personal consumption, and to bring it here for consumption.
Government always blaming the Black Market and it’s the government that’s causing the Black Market by adding so much tax and vat on such things that people have to go the Black Market route to try and afford such things. As stated yesterday ?85 to fill a family car with fuel and ?48 of it goes back to the government in taxes and vat, says it all.
thanks to the Irish government and their greed , its like for the same price as what i would spend here i get a trip away to buy my smokes someplace else which is even more money out of the Irish economy ,
i can count on one hand the amount of times i bought cigarettes in this country the last few years and i do not consider it black market as i do pay the taxes on them in whatever country i visit ,
Ive said it before I’m forced outside to smoke and forced outside the country to buy them ,
No one is forcing you to smoke, thats your choice.
your right its an addiction , but your missing the point
@Mary, he said “forced outside to smoke”, not forced to smoke. Smoking may be an addiction and a luxury to some, but the ever increasing tax on Diesel and petrol is worse than the price of fags. half a wage goes now just trying to get to work.
Nobody Seems To Notice…The Policitions Return From Their Regular Trips Abroad..Diplomatic Bags Stuffed With Duty Free Booze And Cigarettes…No Customs Duty Paid Here…Then Straight To Duty Free Dail Bars To Guzzel More !! At Taxpayers Expence !!
The agency in charge of collecting the household charge is getting death threats ? The rest of get Debt threats.
Black Market, black Market….well I don’t know a country where cigarettes cost sooo much…. 8 Euro for the cheapest packet….that is nearly to be called discrimination of smokers…. I bet the whole Dail smokes…… annoyed!
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